Water, sewer rates rise 2 percent in Framingham

FRAMINGHAM — The average family in Framingham can expect to pay about $35 more for their water and sewer service over the next year.

The Board of Selectmen last week approved a 2 percent increase in the town’s water and sewer rates for fiscal year 2018, accepting recommendations from Chief Financial Officer Mary Ellen Kelley.

As a result, the average annual bill for a typical family will be around $1,770 during this fiscal year, which began July 1. That’s up from about $1,735 last year.

Discussing the financial picture with selectmen last week, Kelley said the rate increases would have been steeper, but they were tempered by the use of money left over from previous years.

The town will put $3.4 million of its reserves toward softening the financial blow for water and sewer users.

Town Meeting this spring approved a nearly $21.8 million Water Department budget, an increase of about 2.8 percent. Debt is the main driver, rising about 10 percent from the previous year, Kelley said.

The Sewer Department budget for the current fiscal year came in at just over $29 million, with a year-over-year increase of nearly 4 percent. Debt service and assessments from the MWRA together comprise about three quarters of the whole sewer budget.

The level of water consumption across town also plays a role in driving up or down the rates. Kelley said the closing several years ago of the Breyers plant on Old Connecticut Path significantly changed consumption, although other new businesses have opened up, bringing the level of water usage back to about the same level. Weather and conservation measures also come into play.

"We are now having a wet spring,” Kelley said, “so we are seeing that impact on consumption, but at the beginning of this cycle ... we had a very dry spring and summer, so they've sort of made up for each other."

This year’s 2 percent increase is less dramatic than the 6-percent spike ratepayers saw in fiscal 2017. The average family saw its yearly water and sewer bills rise about $100 last fiscal year, going from about $1,635 to $1,735.

Selectmen also tapped into the town’s surpluses last year to blunt the financial impact. The board approved a recommendation from Kelley to use a little more than $2.4 million in savings to offset the increase in water and sewer rates, which were set to rise by as much as 9 percent last year.

Kelley said at that time that debt service is rising primarily due to the completion of a major infrastructure project in east Framingham. The town is now “fully borrowed” on the $42 million project, Kelley said.

Jim Haddadin can be reached at 617-863-7144 or jhaddadin@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JimHaddadin.

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